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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Feb 2013
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My favorite mondegreen is from the American Pledge of Allegiance to the flag:
'And one nation, for Richard Stans' (for which it stands) I kept asking my father 'who is Richard Stans?'
Another, from the hymn, 'Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear'.
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stranger
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stranger
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Your little piece on Ms.Wright, alludes to her not understanding her 'mistaken' use of the last line of the poem. When in fact, she was making light of this. The way in which this information has been drawn in your daily email, seems unfair to Ms.Wright.
( The final two lines had been heard as "they have slain the Earl O' Moray, and Lady Mondegreen."
The American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term "mondegreen" in an essay "The Death of Lady Mondegreen,"
which was published in Harper's Magazine in November 1954.In the essay,
Wright described how, as a young girl, she misheard the final line from the ballad.)
Last edited by Barneytee; 02/22/13 09:05 AM.
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stranger
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stranger
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My first introduction to Mondegreens was a William Safire column in the New York Times where one example he used was "Lead On, O Kinky Turtle" for the hymn "Lead On, O King Eternal". Mr Safire went on to credit Gregory Jaynes for using the phrase "lead on, o kinky turtle" as mantra for stress reduction. It seemed a profoundly appropriate use at the time in my own life and still serves me well in particularly trying moments.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
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Heh
Kinky Turtle
good name for a band!
formerly known as etaoin...
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stranger
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stranger
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My late father referred to a friend who had developed 'Old Timer's Disease' for Alzheimer's Disease.
Another mondegreen, in Portuguese, was heard by a female friend of mine after the 1974 revolution in Portugal in which the Communist party had become prominent. My friend was complimented at a dinner party for being very beautiful, like a 'protaganista' (a movie star) but which she heard as, and was accordingly insulted by, the phrase 'puta comunista' (a Communist whore).
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stranger
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stranger
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My favorite modegreen was "there's a bathroom on the right" in the Credence Clearwater Revival song, "Bad Moon Rising." The correct wording that I finally understood was "There's a bad moon on the rise."
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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----please, draw me a sheep----
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Sep 2010
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It took me almost 60 years to realize that the song I learned as a child was not just nonsense, but had words that could be understood. I've since learned that others shared this mondegreen. Perhaps others here remember, "Mairzie dotes and dozie dotes and lit'le lamzie divey. A kid'l de divey too, wouldn't you?" I still prefer my version to "Mares eat oats and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy."
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
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My mother used that song, and it was the way you prefer.
Thanks for the memory.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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Mairzy Doats was a novelty song, published with that title/lyric - the joke was given away later, in the bridge: If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey,
Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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My favorite modegreen was "there's a bathroom on the right" in the Credence Clearwater Revival song, "Bad Moon Rising." The correct wording that I finally understood was "There's a bad moon on the rise." It might just be an urban legend but I've been led to believe that CCR would sometimes sing "there's a bathroom on the right" when they did this song in concerts.
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stranger
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stranger
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My sister confessed to me that once when down in the dumps after breaking up with her boyfriend and finding herself emotionally overeating, she understood Patsy Cline's song as 'I call for pizzas' rather than 'I fall to pieces.'
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
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I eat pizza when feeling "low", I can empathize.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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stranger
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stranger
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My mother was the secretary at a catholic elementary school. She was a fervent William Safire reader. "Lead on, Oh Kinky Turtle" became a special greeting between her and one of the school's English teachers.
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stranger
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stranger
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As for trans-language mondegreens, one that is probably familiar to all students of French is haricots, 'beans,' which of course we called "haircuts"!
I studied Vietnamese in Army Language School and recall some of the ones which gave us a chuckle. (diacritical marks have been omitted)
hot toc 'haircut' became "hot dog";
tho moc 'carpenter' became "tomahawk";
chien xa 'Army tank' became "chain saw"
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2011
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For many years, I heard "like a tree in motion", until I realised that it was actually "poetry" - and this was well before i had read 'Lord of the Rings!'
I'm immortal until proven otherwise
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stranger
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stranger
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My (then) teenage son commented to me regarding potential college attendance that the well known school in Salt Lake City couldn't be that great an institution if they named it "Bring 'Em Young."
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,916 Likes: 2 |
My (then) teenage son commented to me regarding potential college attendance that the well known school in Salt Lake City couldn't be that great an institution if they named it "Bring 'Em Young." That's a good one! Welcome
----please, draw me a sheep----
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